You've heard about probiotics. But what are they and what do they do? We asked the Vitamin Shoppe's on-staff nutritionist Brian Tanzer for the skinny on the benefits of these good bacteria that help keep your gut healthy.
Why you need probiotics? If you eat a lot of processed foods, excess sugar or refined carbohydrates, the bacteria in your digestive tract might have a hard time staying in balance.
And probiotics inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, promote good digestion, boost immune function, and increase resistance to infection.
And probiotics inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, promote good digestion, boost immune function, and increase resistance to infection.
When you should take a probiotic? If you are looking for a probiotic to take every day, try a multi-strain probiotic
starting with 5-10 billion CFU, and see how it works for
you. CFU's, or colony forming
units are used to measure probiotics potency. CFU’s can range from
1 billion up to 100 billion. The best time to take a probiotic
supplement is between meals,
ideally in the morning or in the evening.
Tip: If
you are finishing up a course of antibiotics and have chronic digestive issues,
look for a CFU count of at least 30 billion.
What if you don't want to take a supplement? If taking supplements isn't your
thing, fermented foods can offer
similar benefits to supplements, by providing more good bacteria, and
supporting a proper balance of gut bacteria. Try organic Kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso soup, tempeh and yogurt with live, active cultures.
Tip: It’s best to gradually add fermented foods into your diet as
you may feel a little more bloating than normal until your body and gut
bacteria adjust.
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